The Final Word: Cannes '98 Biz Mop-Up -- Indiewood on the Croisette

Over the course of the last month, a Soho loft space has become a vibrantnew forum for the indiefilm community to share information and exchangeideas. FILM BYTES, a live Friday night Internet show, broadcast on thePseudo Online Network, features a weekly roundtable discussion betweenan assortment of indie-minded folks. Since its launch on this spring, theprogram has already welcomed: Anthology Film Archive‘s Jonas Mekas, GoodMachine‘s Mary Jane Skalski, Film Forum‘s Karen Cooper, film booker JeffreyJacobs, producer Gill Holland, producer Lydia Pilcher, Women Make Movies‘Debra Zimmerman, as well as filmmakers Lisa Cholodenko “High Art“, MarcLevin (“Slam“), and Bill Plympton (“I Married a Strange Person“).

On Friday, a group gathered in the studio to discuss the business of the1998 Cannes Film Festival during a program sponsored by co-hosted byindieWIRE. Sony Pictures Classics acquisitions v.p. Dylan Leiner joinedScreen International‘s Colin Brown, the Hollywood Reporter‘s Dana Harris,indieWIRE Features Editor Anthony Kaufman, and host Ted Lambert to reflecton the Festival.

Cannes first-timers Kaufman and Harris expressed surprise at the overalllack of major business activity on the Croisette. A feeling that has beenechoed by many since the festival closed a week ago, but a claim that wouldbe dismissed by Leiner later in the show. “A lot of people weredisappointedwith the market and the films this year,” Kaufman explained “Most of thedeals that were announced — the majority came from films that were nota part of the festival.” Harris, who covers the international beat for theReporter, agreed wholeheartedly adding, “It was suprisingly quiet.” Asan example of the affect that the lack of business activity had on her ownpublication’s coverage, Harris explained, “When we go to cover Cannes wego into Cannes with 75 stories already written, and this year we wereparticlautaly grateful for that advanced coverage because it got reallytough towards the end — to make sure that we had a banner story for eachday — because the news simply wasn’t there.”

Prodded to explain the changes at Cannes and how they relate to theoverall business climate, Harris offered, “My sense is thats its indicativeof a trend in the industry in terms of the way business is being done — Idon’t think you’re going to see as much in the way of the high poweredactivity,” she continued, “With the death of the video market — videobrought in so much more of a playing field, so much more easy money anda nice safety net — that simply doesn’t exist anymore, the video marketis completely mature.”

As the Cannes discussion began to shift slightly, one issue raised byLambert is the actual value of the Cannes Palme d’Or in the domesticmarketplace. Harris stated flatly, “The Palme d’Or in terms of marketingmeans absolutely nothing.” In fact, as Harris explained, the issue isconnected in a larger way to the declining successes for foreign filmsin America, even when that film is a Cannes winner. In a domesticpipeline crowded by American independent work, Harris stated “It hasnothing to do with festival awards, it has everything to do with starpower, and there are a few select films that are driven by reviewsthat can dodge that bullet.”

Summing up business activity before welcoming Sony’s Leiner intothe mix, Harris explained that, contrary to its often reserved businessapproach, Sony Pictures Classics “had a small field day” — buyingnumerous films for American distribution. And responding to a pointmade by Kaufman who said that execs at Cannes were telling him thatbuying was down due to high asking prices, Harris agreed, explaining,“I think that’s one of the thing’s that’s going on with ‘The General’,” JohnBoorman’s Cannes entry which is rumored to be going to SPC. “SonyPictures is known for not spending a lot of money on their films,” Harrisexplained, “They’re definitely a player, but one of the ways they makethey’re money is they focus on smaller independent films that they canafford to make some money back on — they’re not showy like Miramaxcan be sometimes.”

Asked point blank about his company’s negotiations for “The General“,Dylan Leiner coyly responded, “I don’t know anything about it.” Butreflecting on the broader business scene he offered, “Everyone said itwas a very slow marketplace, for us it was a very active marketplaceand a very productive markteplace. The Cannes Film Festival has onlychanged in as much as the buyers who go their have changed — its reallyas you all talk about often, and is part of the dialogue that we’re allhavingthese days — its sort of the Hollywood-ization of the independent filmworld and of the specialty film world. Its people and its companies goingto Cannes and being interested in making talent deals and in puttingtogether production deals, and sort of shifting their focus away from theniche industry which is still very lucrative and very positive and a placeto find new filmmakers, and to foster relationships.”

Asked if the busy Cannes business scene indicated some sort of shiftfor Sony, Leiner stated, “I sincerely feel that our focus hasn’t shiftedmuch, we’re becoming more aggresive and more daring in the types offilms that we’re acquiring but we’re not interested in getting into thethree picture deal business, nor are we intersted in signing novelistsor signing writers, or geting involved with development, we’re interestedin producers and directors who are talented and who want a good serviceorganization behind them.”

Wrapping up the wrap-up show was nine-time Cannes attendee ColinBrown, the U.S. Editor for Screen International, offered a bit ofperspectiveon what some considered a disappointing business-scene in France, “Itsweird because they said the same thing last year. Last year was supposedto be the worst Cannes ever, but four of the films went on to reallysuccessful lives — “L.A. Confidential“, “The Sweet Hearafter“, “TheIce Storm“, and “Nil by Mouth“), none of which really leapt up from thefestival but had lives afterwards, and I suspect that this year willbe the same.”

“I always slightly sorry for Cannes,” Brown continued, “Its blamed forother people miseries — a lot of people spend a lot of money to getthere — and if it doesnt live up to the hype, the expectation, thenimmediately there’s a chorus of ‘Boy was this Cannes bad’. I actuallyfelt there was an attempt to ‘out Sundance’ Sundance,” he relayed,“The selections were very –i use the word, “harcore” — the topicswere hardly commercial. What was it, the Holocaust, pedophilia, incest,prostitution. I think they deciced ‘Well what are we going to do, Sundancehas sort of taken the higher ground artistically’. They decided to be muchmore selective and auteurist this year.”